Listen to Walter Mosley talk about his latest novel, Ava DuVernay talk about her ARRAY film initiative, Hilton Als and Jia Tolentino talk about Joan Didion, and Ani DiFranco and Liz Phair talk about their music. Enjoy a night of comedy-therapy, explore the LGBTQ history of Boyle Heights and watch Hungary's official Oscar submission.
ARRAY 10: A Decade of Disruption
Ava DuVernay's ARRAY marks its 10th anniversary with a year-long celebration. DuVernay, along with Tilane Jones and Mercedes Cooper, look back at at the last decade in a discussion moderated by Franklin Leonard of the Black List. The conversation will be viewable until Feb. 3.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Behind the Book: Blake Hill-Saya
CaltechLive! launches a new authors series with Hill-Saya, who penned a biography of his great-great-grandfather, Aaron McDuffie Moore. A physician, businessman and humanitarian, Moore co-founded the famed Black Wall Street in Durham, North Carolina, and helped establish the city as a haven for the African American middle class at the turn of the 20th century. Monique Thomas will interview him.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Art 4 [Change] Virtual Forum
This online panel discussion examines the role of street art in fighting injustice and anti-Black racism. Betty Avila of Self-Help Graphics moderates a panel that includes representatives from the Alley Gallery Pomona, 11:11 A Creative Collective, For Freedoms, Linafornia and musician Jimetta Rose.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Self-Care Comedy
Lord knows we could all use some self-care right now. Naked Comedy is helping us get through the dark days of winter by offering a new comedy show five days a week, Monday through Friday. DeAnne Smith, Sofiya Alexandra, Anna Valenzuela, Christine Little and Sean Keane are building a supportive online community of comedians and fans to help us navigate whatever comes next. The shows happens on Zoom.
COST: $10 per show suggested; MORE INFO
Dynasty Confidential
Joel Kim Booster hosts a livestreamed comedy show with ticket sales going to keep Dynasty Typewriter' alive. Additional Venmo donations (@DynastyConfidential) will go to the nonprofit community organization Ktown For All. Guest comics Sydnee Washington, Mitra Jouhari, Josh Sharp, Jes Tom and Megan Gailey reveal a secret to Booster as they engage in "off-the-rails armchair therapy." If you want a chance to tell him your secret and get some therapy from a comedian, email boxoffice@dynastytypewriter.com.
COST: $5 - $10; MORE INFO
For the Love of L.A.
The Music Center's weekly digital series returns for its second season, celebrating the creativity of L.A. and its artists through video, photography, dance, writing and other disciplines. Upcoming artists include Daniel French of Las Cafeteras and the Shaloha ukulele ensemble. Look for their work on The Music Center's social channels as well as the virtual platform The Music Center Offstage.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time
American Cinematheque screens Hungary's official Oscar submission as well as a Q&A with director Lili Horvát. The film follows a 40-year-old neurosurgeon who leaves her promising career in America to return to Budapest for the man she loves. When he doesn't show up at the appointed time, she begins to search for him. Once he's found, he claims they've never met before. In Hungarian and English with English subtitles.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity
The Library Foundation's ALOUD program features journalist and activist Paola Ramos who embarks on a journey to define the term "Latinx." She'll talk with Fidel Martinez of the Los Angeles Times.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Mi Centro es Tu Centro: A Place of Pride for Boyle Heights
Metro's Community Conversations are online meetings that bring people together to learn about the history, art, activism and culture of various L.A. neighborhoods. Learn about the Eastside's LGBTQ history and how Mi Centro in Boyle Heights serves Latinx LGBTQ individuals. Featured panelists are Alan Acosta, Jo Cerda and Eddie Martinez.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Shapiro Book Prize Talk: The Rise of the Latino Vote
The Huntington's inaugural Shapiro Book Prize winner, Benjamin Francis-Fallon, author of The Rise of the Latino Vote: A History, discusses how Latinx leaders in the U.S. first attempted to align with one political community and how both major political parties attempted to co-opt the constituency.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
The United States vs. Billie Holiday Screening + Q&A
Lee Daniels directs this story about one of the greatest American singers of all time, focusing from the time Holiday was targeted by the federal government in order to escalate and racialize the war on drugs. (U.S. government officials wanted to stop her from singing the ballad, "Strange Fruit," about the lynching of Black people.) The Hulu original film stars singer-songwriter Andra Day and features a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks. The online discussion on Feb. 3 features them and moderator Jim Hemphill.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Hilton Als and Jia Tolentino on Joan Didion
Didion has just released a new book of 12 previously uncollected essays, Let Me Tell You What I Mean. While the "troubadour of California" is not currently scheduled to participate in the livestream, writers Als and Tolentino will discuss the book and Didion's writing. The video of the livestream will be posted on the Writers Bloc YouTube channel after the event.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Ani DiFranco and Liz Phair in Conversation
Scripps College presents two great musicians in conversation: DiFranco, who created her own record label, Righteous Babe Records; and rocker Liz Phair. DiFranco just recently released her 22nd album, Revolutionary Love, and Phair's Soberish comes out in June. They'll talk music, the industry, songwriting and gender with journalist Margaret Wappler.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Walter Mosley in Conversation with Joe Ide
In this Live Talks L.A. event, Mosley discusses his latest mystery novel, Blood Grove, which features hard-boiled P.I. Easy Rawlins, a World War II veteran who lives in Watts. Mosley will discuss the book with fellow L.A. crime fiction writer Joe Ide.
COST: FREE - $38; MORE INFO
A Love Song For Latasha
FILM at LACMA hosts a screening and conversation about this short film about Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old girl who was shot by the owner of a South L.A. liquor store. The shooting, which happened less than two weeks after the videotaped beating of Rodney King in 1992, became a flashpoint for the city's 1992 civil uprising. Director Sophia Nahli Allison talks with artist Calida Rawles and curator Tyree Boyd-Pates. The film is available to watch now on Netflix.
COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO
Rooftop Cinema Club
The Drive-In at Santa Monica Airport
3233 Donald Douglas Loop S, Santa Monica
The drive-in film series ends its run at the airport and plans to return to rooftops later this year. Films on the schedule through Feb. 6 include The Breakfast Club, The Big Lebowski, Do the Right Thing, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Love Jones, Scream, Selena and Shrek.
COST: $32-48 per car, depending on occupancy and screening time; MORE INFO
Ludovica Gioscia: Arturo and the Vertical Sea
Baert Gallery
1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., Suite 200, downtown L.A.
The gallery presents the second solo show of the Italian artist, featuring three large-scale wooden structures that act as backdrops for ceramics, papier-mâché compositions, textile hangings, hand-painted wallpapers and watercolors. Most of the works are collaborations between the artist and her cat Arturo. The show explores the act of cultivating connections with plants, animals and microbes. View the works by appointment only.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Women.On.Women (WOW) Exhibition
Galerie XII Los Angeles
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Ave., Suite B2, Santa Monica
The gallery presents a group show highlighting the work of five female artists: Patty Carroll, Maia Flore, Mona Kuhn, Ziqian Liu and Anja Niemi. The works are available to view in four exhibition spaces in the gallery, which is opened for limited-capacity viewings by appointment. The show is also available to view virtually on the gallery's website.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Resident Alien
The comedy-drama-sci-fi series debuted last week on SyFy, with Alan Tudyk starring as an alien (Harry) who crashes on Earth with a mission to kill all humans. He starts living a simple life as a small town doctor but he's roped into solving a local murder and assimilates into human society. Harry begins to wrestle with his mission and asks the big questions: "Are human beings worth saving?" and "Why do they fold their pizza before eating it?" The series airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Who doesn't miss going out to eat or stopping by a bar for a drink? Here are a few options from restaurants and bars as we work our way back toward normal.
